This invention relates to pasta extruder apparatus which is driven as an attachment to an existing electrical appliance with a motor drive, such as a food processor base, for shaping articles of food from freshly mixed dough or alimentary granules known as pasta to form strand-like food items such as spaghetti, vermicelli, noodles, ribbons, strings, strands, etc.
The illustrative embodiment of the present invention is employed as an attachment to food processors of the type having a working bowl with motor-driven tool drive means extending into the bowl with which various selected rotary food processing tools can be engaged to be driven for performing various food processing operations in accordance with the desires of the user. A removable cover is secured over the top of the bowl during use. The cover includes a feed tube having a passageway which opens downwardly through the cover into the bowl, and the food items to be processed are placed in the feed tube and then pushed down into the bowl by means of a removable food pusher which is adapted to slide down in the manner of a plunger in the feed tube. The food items are sliced, grated, or otherwise processed by the rotary tool in the bowl. The bowl carries on its periphery a push rod which forms a part of a safety interlock system for actuating the motor drive for driving the tool drive means only when the bowl and the cover are properly positioned on the food processor.
Additional information with respect to such food processors may be obtained by reference to U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,892,365; 3,985,304; 4,198,887; 4,200,244; 4,216,917; 4,213,570; 4,226,373; 4,227,655; and 4,277,995.
A recent addition to the field of kitchen appliances is the pasta machine which extrudes spaghetti, noodles, etc. from a fresh pasta mixture. The addition of another complete appliance is costly as well as requiring additional storage space on counter tops or in already overcrowded kitchen storage facilities.